Dust-cap fob tire-valves



1. WARD. DUST CAP' FOR TERE VALVES. AFPLICATNIN FILE@ AFR. I9. |918.

s' izbrmeys JOHN' T. WARD, 0F LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

DUST-CAP FOR TIRE-VALVES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented lMay 20, 1919.

Application led .April 19. 1918. Serial No. 229,483

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN T. WARD, a citizen of the United States,residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State ofCalifornia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Dust-Caps forTire- Valves, of which the following is a specification.

I-Ieretofore it has been the common practice to use a dust cap for tirevalves which screws upon the valve stem. While this is very positive inits construction, yet it is objectionable because of the time requiredto remove and replace the cap. lIt has been proposed touse caps whichare held in position by bayonet joints, but these rattle and becomeloose. Where locking arrangements for such caps has been employed, theyhave generally been exposed to dust so that they soon clog and becomeinoperative.

The primary obj ect of this invention is to provide a cap which protectsthe valve from dust, may be quickly removed and replaced, and issecurely locked in position when in place. y

It is another object of this invention to provide a cap which is dusttight, and which is protected against clogging so that it will always beoperative. l

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a cap of thecharacter described which contains the movable elements, and whereby incase of injury it will only be necessary to secure a new cap. it beingpractically impossible to injure the base portion of the cap surroundingthe stem.

I accomplishy these objects by means of the embodiments of my inventionillustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a section through a valve equipped with my improved dustcap, the valve stem being partly shown in elevation. Fig. 2 is a sectionas seer on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1 the cap being removed. Fig. 3 is asection through the cap as seen on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is anenlarged fragmentary section as seen on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2. Fig. 5is an enlarged ragmentary section as seen on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, 6 indicates the usual valvestem extending through the rim 7 of a wheel. The base of the dust cap isindic'ated generally `by 8, and the cap proper is indicated generallyby' 9.

The base 8 has its lower portion of hexag? onal form so as to provide awrench hold. vThe upper portion is of cylindrical form as indicated by10. The topmost portion may be squared as indicated by 11. Upon thesquare portion is disposed a collar 12` which may be riveted in place orsecured by any other suitable means. However, the collar l2 may be madeintegral with the base 8. The construction is such that .an annularchannel 13 is formed in the base. The collar 12 has notches 14 formedtherethrough. Midway between notches 14 are recesses 15.

The cap 9 is a shell having a portion 16 of such diameter that ittelescopes over the portion `10 of the base and' forms a dust tight iit.The upper portion 17 is preferably reduced in diameter s0 that ashoulder 18 is formed in the cap. On. the inside of the cap spaced -fromthe open. end thereof are lugs 20 so disposed that, when the cap isslipped over the base portion of the cap,

the lugs 20 may pass through-the notches 14 and into the channel 13.`Resting' upon the lugs 20 is a ring 21, which has a bore larger thanthe stem of the 'tire valve so that it is free to move thereover.Disposed between the ring 21 and shoulder 1S is a helical l compressionspring 22, whichtends to force the ring 21 upon the lugs.

The cap is placed in position by slipping l it over the cylindricalportion 10 of its base,

then pressing downwardly and rotating the cap until lugs 20 registerwith notches 14.

The cap. is then forced downwardly until the lugs 20 are disposed in thechannel 13.. The spring 22 acting upon ring 21 resists this movementvery slightly. fVhen the lugs have reached their lowest position andrest upon the bottom of the channel, the cap is rotated a slight amount.The downward pressure upon the valve cap is relieved, and when the lugs20 reach the recesses 15 they will slip upwardly therein and be lockedIin position. To remove the cap, it is only necessary to press downwardlyupon the same, then rotate the cap until the lugs 22 register with thenotches 14. In this position, the

action of the spring 22 upon the ring 21 y lugs, although any greaternumber than two may be used. lt will also be noticed that the ring 21and the spring are contained Within the cap so that the cap proper isself contained. After removing the oep the same may be slipped into thepocket and -there is no opportunity for mud ordirt to get into the partsand clog them so as to prevent operation of the cap. This .is a veryimportant feature of my invention.

What I ela-im is.:

The combination of a bese portion of a tire valve dust cap having acylindrical upper end, e peripheral channel being formed thereinadjacent the upper fece, the

neoeeee upper Wall of said channel having notches extending therethroughand recesses between said notches, ety cap for said stem having a borewith lugs extending inwardly and disposed to pass through said notchesand rest Within said recesses, said lugs being spaced above the loweredge of the capv so that the letter will telescope over the cylindricaipart' of said bese lportion, a ring siidnbly disposed Within srid bore,and a compressionsp-ring resting against said ring tending; to hold saidring upon said lugs.

in Witness that claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my nainethis 12th day of April, 1918.

JOHN T. WARD.

